Siege of Barcelona (1713)

Siege of Barcelona (1713)

Part of: War of the Spanish Succession

Capture of the city on September 13, 1714

date	July 25, 1713 to September 11, 1714
place	Barcelona, Principality of Catalonia
output	French and Spanish victory
consequences	Assertion of absolute rule by the Spanish central state over Catalonia

Parties to the conflict
Spain France	Catalonia
Commander
Restaino Cantelmo-Stuart James Fitzjames, 1st Duke of Berwick-upon-Tweed	Antonio de Villarroel Rafael Casanova
Troop strength
maximum 40,000 men	about 16,000 men
losses
allegedly 20,000 men dead or wounded	6000 men dead or wounded

The information on troop strength and losses can vary in the literature.

The siege of Barcelona was the final military act of the War of the Spanish Succession . It took place after the Treaty of Utrecht . Parties to the war were on the one hand Catalan troops, who still did not recognize the rule of Philip V , and on the other hand French and royal Spanish troops. After a year-long blockade, the actual siege began in July 1714. The city fell on September 11, 1714. After the city was conquered , Catalonia was firmly incorporated into the Spanish central state and all regional institutions were abolished. Today is the day of the city's surrender to the Catalan national holiday Diada Nacional de Catalunya and is considered a national day of mourning for many Catalans due to the loss of regional independence.

prehistory

After the Habsburg pretender for the Spanish royal throne, Charles VI. After becoming Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, he lost the support of the English and Dutch in the War of the Spanish Succession, as they were not interested in a union of the Crown of Spain with the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire in the person of a single ruler. The English withdrew their troops from Spain in 1712. As a result, there was hardly any fighting on the Spanish theater of war. After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Charles no longer had any real chance of asserting himself as king in Spain. He then withdrew his troops from the still held Catalonia. Although the peace was linked to the recognition of the French candidate for the throne Philip V as King of Spain, the Catalan estates decided to continue the war even without allies. They were mainly concerned with defending their privileges.

Resistance resolution and armaments

The estates set up a junta . They also decided on July 7, 1713 to raise their own army. This consisted of volunteers, previous militias, the so-called Miquelets, and members of the regiments previously in the service of Charles. The junta declared in the name of Charles III. the war to maintain freedom against Duke Philip of Anjou. The troops occupied the Fort of Montjuïc near the city of Barcelona. There was no significant support from Vienna. The generosity of the population raised money for armaments. The city of Barcelona alone equipped 6,000 experienced veterans. 4,000 cavalrymen could be equipped with horses left behind by the imperial family. Artillery was also plentiful. Barcelona alone was defended by 117 cannons and mortars. The total number of defenders was around 16,000 men.

The defense was led by Antonio de Villaroel. Mayor Rafael Casanova also played an important role . The guilds and the lower clergy were particularly involved in organizing the defense.

A Spanish army was set up against the rebels under the Captain General for Catalonia, Restaino Cantelmo-Stuart, Duke of Pepoli. At the beginning their number was barely 14,000 men. But it was soon reinforced by French troops. At the end of July 1713, the troops arrived near Barcelona. The junta rejected the request for submission.

course

At first the French-Spanish army blocked the city only because it was too weak to attack. Initially too few ships were available to block the sea route. This enabled food deliveries to get into the city. While the mood in the city was clearly in favor of the resistance, the situation in the rest of Catalonia was less favorable for the insurgents. Only a few cities joined and peasant uprisings largely failed to materialize. Most of the cities were gradually occupied by Philip's troops. The island of Mallorca, however, joined the insurgents. Over time, the blockade squadron was reinforced, which made it difficult to supply the city.

Attack on two of the city's bastions

James Fitzjames, 1st Duke of Berwick-upon-Tweed took command of the 40,000-strong French-Spanish troops in 1714. He arrived before Barcelona in July 1714. The actual siege began with the opening of the trenches and the bombardment of the city.

The resistance in the city took on religious features. The besieged hoped for a miracle. In the last days of the siege, the supreme command was symbolically transferred to the Virgin Mary. The miracle did not materialize.

After the besiegers had made seven breaches in the fortification, the storm began on the city. The defenders withdrew to the new town, but were forced to surrender on September 13, 1714. After paying a sum of money, they were promised that the city would not be looted.

consequences

The leaders of the defenders were considered insurgents; they were imprisoned or executed. The city lost its previous privileges; the Bourbon government pursued a centralizing policy similar to that followed by other national absolutist monarchies.

reception

The Polish author Jan Potocki covers the siege of Barcelona in his novel The Manuscript of Saragossa .

“I cannot understand what madness has taken over the heads of the Catalonians; they believed they could stand up to all of Europe. "

- Jan Potocki : The Saragossa Manuscript (60th day)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gaston Bodart: Military-historical war lexicon (1618-1905) . Vienna 1908, p. 171.
2. ^ ^{A b c} Armstrong Starkey: War in Age of Enlightenment 1700–1789 . Westport, 2003 p. 142.

literature

• Carlos Collado Seidel: Brief history of Catalonia. Munich 2007, p. 100f.
• Ottokar Machalicky: The Spanish Successions War. Campaign 1713. Vienna 1892, pp. 384–393.
• Tony Jaques: Dictionary of battles and sieges. Vol. 1, Westport, 2007, p. 108.